E3 2007: Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker Progress Report

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Got to impress them all.

By Mary Jane Irwin

With a name like Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker, you'd think Square Enix's latest foray into the franchise would be funny. Instead, it's trying to stay serious. Square says it's meant for Pokemon trainers ready to take off their training wheels and play a more mature monster hunter.

When first dumped into the DQM: Joker world, you'll notice the fully 3D environments, the gorgeous cut scenes, and Akira Toriyama's character art (the Dragon Ball guy). Then you'll witness our angsty hero's release from prison to compete in the Monster Scout Challenge. From there, you're let loose to tackle seven isles in an attempt to woo all 200 monsters into your collection.

Square also insists that DQM's story is much deeper than those of its monster-hunting rivals. Every character in the game actually has something important to say about the world instead of parroting simple hint phrases like, "I like zipping around town in my running shoes."

Unfortunately, the demo dumped Joker onto a rather barren desert island. For all the care that went into the character art, the land was very bland (a fact emphasized by its impressive draw distance). At least there were plenty of scorpions and crabs to bully. And, luckily, you won't have to contend with random encounters.

If you can out run them, you won't have to fight them.

But if you do manage to get trapped in a prickly situation, Joker can release up to three monsters to deal with the foe. (Like Pokemon, Joker can only have three monsters on his person. The rest are stored away for later play). Combat, as you'd expect, is fairly straightforward. You can simply instruct monsters to fight (the game will take care of the details), or you can micromanage each encounter.

Before battle, you can opt to impress your foes. That's right, you "capture" new monsters by wowing them with your fighting prowess. After unleashing your best attacks against the enemy, it will decide whether you've got the chops or are just a poseur. If the monster doesn't get Joker envy, he'll unleash some serious wailing against your party - so there is always a risk when luring a monster to your team.

If you're looking for more unique means of monster acquisition, you can always try your hand at breeding. Combining any two monsters will create a hybrid with an amalgamation of skills and character traits. For the most part, it's cosmetic.

Square is deep in the localization process -- currently cleaning up DQM's translation. You too will be able to impress them all this November.